New Despair Order
by mikannurse
Summary: A universe where Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba were never born. At first, this seems like a good thing. However, the universe needs a certain amount of despair, and another baby was soon born- one full of despair. They grew up, were accepted into Hope's Peak- and started their very own mutual killing class.
1. Chapter 1

Fingernails dance across the keyboard. Rain pummels the outside window, creating a soft tapping noise. The mystery person briefly pauses their typing to turn their head to the side and observe the world outside the window. Muddy grass. Children hopping along in rainboots, giggling all the while. Dogs barking, tails whipping back and forth like flags.

Disgusting.

Maybe those idiots could go about with their idle hope and blind compliance. But they... They needed something more. They craved something more to feel alive.

Sweet despair.

And looking back at the 15 tied up, unconcious students behind them reminded them that they'd soon get their wonderful despair.

Just a matter of days now.

Hi everyone! It's me, mikannurse. This is my first time publishing a SYOC to Fanfiction. I did one on Tumblr with much success, so I figured I'd try another here.

Here's the application form. _PLEASE PM IT TO ME_. I'll be accepting 16 students. I'll try to message you if you're accepted, as well as try to keep a roster on my profile.

**APPLICATION FORM:**

Name:

Age (between 14 and 18 unless you have an explained reason for them to be older/younger):

Gender (Male, female, or anything in between is welcome):

SHSL Talent (no canon talents please, with the exception of a ? or Good Luck. I'll only accept one of each of these. Keep it in mind.):

Apperance:

Clothing:

Height and Weight (example: 5'4, 126 pounds):

Sexuality:

Personality:

Family:

Biggest secret:

Quotes (three please!):

Greatest fear:

Mastermind (specify clothes and attitude. Please tell me here if you do not want them to be the Mastermind):

Culprit, survivor, or victim (NO GUARANTEES FOR ANY OF THESE):

Any important notes:

Thank you! Hope to hear from you soon!


	2. A Brand New Day

"Good Morning!"

The announcement blares through the room, awaking many of the sleeping teenagers. Groans of annoyance echo through the room as newly-opened eyes struggle to adjust to the harsh light in the room.

The room itself was nothing nice to wake up to. High, grey walls with a row of cheap lights on the ceiling providing the painful lighting, and almost completely black, meta sheets covering the windows. Not to mention, everyone was lying on the cold tile floor with no memory of how they got here. The peppy, automated "good morning" seemed almost mocking.

Everyone stared awkwardly at each other, waiting for someone to break the silence- and hopefully provide some answers.

The announcer's voice was the one to do just that. "Hello students. We see that your sleep has been a pleasant one. Please become acquainted with your new classmates while we prepare the auditorium for your arrival. Thank you." And just like that, the loudspeaker went dead- not before producing a loud scream of feedback, much to the distaste of the sleepy teens.

The awkward staring continued for a full 10 seconds before someone broke the silence.

"... Where's my cell phone?"

All heads swivelled to the speaker. A boy with a bad case of bedhead was digging through his green parka's pockets. He stilled before looking up at the eyes glued on him.

"What?" He snapped before returning to his pocket for a moment. He pulled out his still-empty hand and sighed, rubbing his pimpled forehead. "If any of you took it, it's not friggin' funny."

A voice burst out from another part of the room. "Mine's gone too!" A student started digging through the pockets of their pink shorts, round face scrunched up in confusion. A worried murmur arose through the crowd as the teens all dug for cellphones that weren't there. Great. An entire group of teenagers missing their cell phones. What were they supposed to do now, socialize?

At least one person thought so. "I think we should introduce ourselves! After all, isn't that what the voice said?" The speaker- a girl with blonde hair and black streaks tied up in ponytail- smiled at the group. "I'm Chiemi Ito. I'm a Super High School Level Spirit Medium!" She beamed. "Hmm, you are all SHSLs, right?" Her bronze eyes scanned the room, searching for a response.

There was a brief pause. "Well, that's my own case... at least." A boy from across the room spoke. His neon orange jumpsuit was a bit harsh on sleepy eyes. The first thought Chiemi had was that his hair reminded her of an American TV show character. Poncherello or something, wasn't it?

"My name is Yohaku Miru, although you all may call me Yohaku... I'm an SHSL Astronaut. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ito. A spirit medium.. Ah, isn't that just wonderful? Helping living humans by conversing with the deceased ones... Wonderful." Chiemi smiled at him. He was sitting cross legged far away, but bowed his head at her and smiled back calmly.

"I think being an astronaut is really interesting too, Yohaku-san! You must be very brave to take up such a position. It's admirable." Chiemi shifted so she was resting on her knees, still smiling at the black haired boy. She fiddled with her necklace (which appeared to bear a raven emblem) as he responded.

"Ah, that's very kind of you to say, Miss Chiemi. I'd certainly assume a spirit medium would be a courageous person... You'd certainly work in difficult positions, I'd assume?" Yohaku pushed his Lennon shades up to rest on the top of his head, revealing neon orange eyes.

It seemed as though they were going to continue before a girl in a sailor uniform interrupted them.

"Look, you two can get it on to your hearts content once we get out of this room, but for now, can you at least pretend you aren't already planning on getting in each others pants? It's uncomfortable." The girl sighed, drumming a ringed finger on the tiled floor.

Chiemi stuttered, whole face going red, while Yohaku merely cocked his head at her. "Madam, I feel that may be a bit of a stretch. I'd certainly like to hear about how you'd reach that conclusion layer, but for now, perhaps we could all learn your name?"

The girl squinted, silver eyes looking him over to try and figure out if he was mocking her or not. After that came back inconclusive, she sighed and ran her hands through her navy blue hair, running them all the way to the end of her hair (her waist) before responding.

"I'm Haru Takahashi. SHSL Soccer Player."

"Just Haru?" The student with the pink shorts cocked their head at the girl, their afro shifting slightly.

"Just Haru." She confirmed, bringing up her knees and yawning. "You?"

"Kin Smith." They smiled. Feeling the confused glances, their smile faltered a bit, but they kept talking. "No, I'm not a boy or a girl. Just use "they", ok? I'm not a crossdresser, not hiding my gender, I just don't have one." Kin finished talking, leaving the room silent. They scrunched over and zipped up their red leather jacket. "Huh, it's a little cold in here. Did anyone else notice that?"

"I know! You'd think being such a good school, they'd at least be able to get some heat in here." A boy wearing tortoiseshell glasses spoke up. Kin's back straightened out, a bit glad to have all the focus taken off of them. The boy continued. "Oh, I'm Ritsu Hazuki. I'm an SHSL Visual Novel Creator. Let's hope for the best today, yes?"

Chiemi, seemingly having regained her composure, piped in. "Visual novels? I've played a few of those before!"

Ritsu beamed, straightening his blue sweater over his dress shirt and straightening his back. "I hope you liked them! I'm certainly proud of them."

It seems they were finally waking up and remembering how to be civil humans. A girl across the room slowly raised her hand. Ritsu nodded at her, sandy blonde locks bouncing around his face. "Yes, would you like to introduce yourself?"

She nodded, fiddling with her blouse before continuing. "M-my name is Chiasa Abo. I'm an SHSL T-Tomb Builder, and I hope we can all g-get along." She looked up, eyes darting left and right on the search for a positive response. "Um..."

Perhaps out of pity for the clearly nervous girl, a boy in a blue suit nodded at her. "I certainly agree with that statement, Miss Chiasa. Ah, I'm Iko Amaterasu. I'm a SHSL Lawyer, or Attorney. Whichever one you prefer. I'm happy to be able to meet my classmates!" Chiasa sighed, relieved. She brushed a strand of curly blonde hair out of her face and looked ahead, waiting for more. Iko was fairly cheerful sounding. "I'm sure all of us can be good companions, right?" Something very subtle felt off about him, but most of the students ignored it and turned to the next student, who really looked like he didn't want to introduce himself. In fact, it was the boy who first commented on the missing cell phones.

"... Geez. Alright, I'm Connor Morrison. SHSL Playwright. And let's face it. None of us really want to be in here, reciting some dumbass lines about how super-duper pumped we are to be together, so I'm gonna be honest and say I don't want any of you talking to me unless its damn important." With that he flopped on his back and begin to quietly count the ceiling tiles.

Well. That pretty much killed the happy, cheerful mood. The girl next to him shifted awkwardly. "Well. Should-Should I still go?"

"Yes, of course!" Yohaku nodded enthusiastically. "We should learn about all our classmates... Every one of them."

The girl smiled. "Alrightly. I'm Akari Tachibana. SHSL Ringleader, in case you were wondering. Good to meet you."

Haru looked up from fiddling with her uniform's ribbon, surprised. "Wait up a sec. I'm pretty sure I've seen your shows before. Are you sure you're Akari Tachibana?" Haru cocked an eyebrow, while Akari merely giggled, brown ponytail bouncing with her laugh.

"Sound a bit different, don't I? Hehe, my stage persona is a bit overdone. It's just to make the crowd excited. That's just part of the show, Haru. The playwright might understand a little, right?" Akari motioned towards Conner, who lifted his head a little and stared at her.

"Yeah. Whatever you say, ." He plunked his head back on the ground.

Well. So much for bringing him into the conversation. Akari paused before motioning to a white-haired boy resting against the wall. "Hey, I feel like I've seen you somewhere! What's your name?"

He lifted up his head, eye glued to Akari. No, that was not a typo. One of his red eyes was covered by an eye patch, the black patch contrasting with his extremely pale skin. The sight of him was enough to make a few students squirm in discomfort.

"Itami Kimochi. SHSL Freak." He spoke monotonously. Itami said nothing more, but continued keeping eye contact with Akari.

"Oh, that makes sense. I must have seen you in a show or something." Akari gently pushed the boy to continue talking, but he ignored it, and merely shifted forward to tie up his sneaker.

Sensing there was probably nothing more this guy had to say, the boy next to him on the wall (who had been subtly scooting away from him the whole time) started to speak.

"Well, aren't you just a conversationalist. I'm Saburo Umari. SHSL Archer, if you care. Now seriously, does someone want to explain what's been going on here? Did none of you dolts think to wonder why we're locked up in some weirdo room?" Saburo sighed, pushing back his brown bangs, letting them fall back in his face.

Chiasa spoke up. "Ah... I think it's because we all woke up here."

Saburo shot the girl a death glare. "Thanks, tips. Did your dad drop you on your head as a child?" Conner chuckled slightly from where he was. Chiasa gasped, cheeks heating up.

"D-Daddy did not! H-He was so c-careful with m-me!" Chiasa's voice became louder, peppered with stuttering, and much more frantic. Saburo only snorted.

"'Daddy'? 'Careful with you'? That's a few red flags right off the bat, kiddo." He chuckled slouched back, pulling his uniform tie out from his jacket.

"Come on, be nice." A boy across the room spoke loudly. Everyone turned to look (with the exceptions of Itami and Conner). A boy with short sandy hair was pouting at Saburo. "She didn't do anything to you." He crossed his arms over his black shirt. "I'm Himukata Kitora. SHSL Blacksmith. Let's forget this happened and be friends, ok?"

Saburo paused for just a moment before snorting. "Fuckin' gold. Yeah, whatever bud." Himukata sighed before digging through his jean pockets, pulling out some small candies and munching away on them. He was kind of cute- in his own weird way.

A blonde haired girl sitting behind Kin laughed, starling the protester. They swore quietly before the girl started talking.

"Heh, I like you, Saburo. Not so sweet and passive, huh?" She adjusted the black clip in her short, scruffy haircut before continuing. "The name's Natsuko Sonoda. SHSL Ballerina. I can promise you I'm not at all like those prissy chicks you see on TV, though." Saburo smirked at her. She winked.

"Trollop."

The mutter came a few feet away from Natsuko. The room became silent, and they all turned to the speaker- a black haired girl who was fiddling with her low pigtails.

"Sorry? I think I might have misheard." Natsuko hissed, getting to her feet and marching closer to the girl. The girl shrunk into herself.

"My name is Umeko Sumitimo, I am an SHSL Babysitter, and I said _trollop_. I could ignore Chiemi and Yohaku's display of hormonal urges-" Chiemi squeaked and buried her face in her hands "-But yours and Saburo's is just unacceptable. It's far, far too much! Look at you! That's not even the proper way to wear a sailor uniform." Umeko pointed to Natsuko's green and white uniform. "You've buttoned and tied the ribbon far too low. It can't be helped that you have large breasts, but to put them on display like that is inconsiderate and immoral." Umeko finished and stared up at a furious Natsuko through round glasses.

You could hear a pin drop.

"Oh, and that skirts' too short. I can see your panties from down here. Pink and white striped."

That was the last straw. Natsuko snatched up Umeko by the back of her cardigan and slammed her against the nearest wall, causing a girl with ruffled black hair who was seated right under the spot where Umeko was being held to cry out and crawl away as fast as she could. The rest of the room flew info turmoil, some people gasping, some others yelling out, and a few scuttling towards the two girls.

"You think you're fucking funny, you little bitch?!" Natsuko screamed in Umeko's face. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"I'm speaking the truth! You're set for failure acting so sleazy!" Umeko screamed back with equal force. Natsuko grabbed the girl's school bow and tugged her in close.

"Try to pull something like that again, and I'll smash your pretty little face in. Got it?"

Umeko didn't have time to respond before Natsuko was pulled off her by Kin and Himukara. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Umeko was held back by Iko and Yohaku.

"Please... Don't threaten death, Natsuko. Every life is so precious... It hurts to even think about." Yohaku sighed and looked over at the fuming blonde, who just spat curses in his direction.

After both girls were separated, and the room had generally calmed down, another student made his introduction.

"Now that everyone is reasonably calmed, I'll introduce myself. I'm Olivier Everheart. SHSL Forensic Scientist. Please, let's try to prevent any violent outbursts like that in the future." Olivier looked over at Umeko and Natsuko, both who simply stared angrily at him. He ignored it, and turned to the last student, well-groomed chocolate brown locks moving gently with his head. You could practically hear everyone who was interested in mens' hearts thump. He was a well groomed, good looking boy.

"Now, you're the only one who hasn't made her introduction yet. Care to?" He cocked his head at the girl. She was the one who'd crawled away from the fight, and she seemed to still be a bit shaken from it.

"O-Ok... Erm, I'm Shion Kirishima, and I guess I'm SHSL Good Luck." Shion spoke as calmly as she could, although she couldn't seem to stop adjusting her school vest or smoothing out her skirt.

"Good luck? How'd you get a talent like that?" Haru raised an eyebrow, not buying it.

"Oh... There's a lottery here at Hope's Peak. Every high schooler in Japan has their name entered, and the one who is picked gets the 'Good Luck' title, and gets to come here. And that was me." Shion chuckled weakly. "I've always been lucky, and it seems to have worked out in my favour this time."

"Congratulations, you won a lottery, so now you get to wake up, unconscious, in a room with a bunch of strangers." Saburo piped in.

Just then, the speaker came back on.

"Good morning, students. We are pleased to announce that the auditorium is ready for your arrival. Please move quickly and quietly down the hallway. The door is at the end. Anyone who stays here will be forcibly removed. Thank you for your co-operation." The robotic female voice cut out again.

Well... That was odd. Forcibly removed? What was up with that?

Just then, there was a click on the far right of the room. Two doors, previously unnoticed, swung open, revealing a dimly lit hallway.

The students all looked at each other.

"Well... I guess it's time to get going, hmm?" Akari stood up first. Most of the class followed suit. Chiemi was the first to leave the room. Next was Iko, and followed by him, Himukara. Soon the entire class was gone. As soon as the last person (Conner, in case you're interested) had left, the doors slammed shut. Most of the group looked back nervously. Why did all of them feel so anxious?

Well. Seems like there was only one place to go.

Yohaku stepped up besides Chiemi, and pushed open the door

* * *

**A/N:** So there it is! The first chapter. I hope I did an ok job! Please tell me if I messed up at all, and please review! They mean so much to me. Thanks, and have a wonderful, hope-filled day!


	3. Meet the Headmaster

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! I really appreciated them.

Martial Arts Master:  
Hehe, I can't answer all those questions quite yet, but as the story progresses, I'm sure you'll find out! Thanks for pointing out the typo! It's been fixed. Also, I enjoyed reading your thoughts on all the characters. It was really neat to see what you thought!

Anonymous568:  
Thank you! And oops, totally overlooked that! It's been fixed now OuO

Miss Usami  
I like him too! The ruder characters are some of my favourites. Of course, I adore all of them! The mean ones are very thought-provoking to write, though.

LightBlueRoses  
Haha, Umeko is really out there, isn't she? She's fun to write. And are mods in the habit of deleting SYOCS? I'll take it off, just in case.

Masuyo Takishima  
Thank you! To be honest, one of my biggest worries was that it would come off rushed. I'm glad it didn't!

chiaki ebooks  
Thank you! I'm glad I did a good job introducing everyone.

Ok, now that that's over, there's one thing I'd like to point out. This chapter contains a kind of gross comment made by a character in regards to rape. I talked to the character's creator, and she's ok with me having them do that, but if you are triggered by rape jokes, message me, and I can send you the chapter minus that section.

Thanks, and enjoy!

-

Sudden, blinding light was illuminating the auditorium. After everyone's eyes had adjusted to the light, they were able to examine the large room more clearly.

It was a fairly standard auditorium. Two sets of spotless bleachers on both sides of the doors, all of a maroon coloration. The pale yellow tile floor gleamed up, reflecting the students in it's shine as they walked aimlessly around. The walls were off-white, the left and right walls sporting banners displaying past student's athletic achievements. In between banners, black metal squares block what they could only assume were windows. At the front of the room, a raised stage stood. Near the back of it, a deep read curtain that bore the Hope's Peak crest hung. In the centre, an oak podium stood.

After a few minutes, most people were merely content to investigate the area. There were a few exceptions. Natsuko seemed to be chatting up Haru near the right wall. The soccer player looked very uncomfortable, given that their height differences and (lack of) distance from each other meant that Natsuko's chest was way too close to her face. Haru didn't dare say anything after the ballerina's freakout earlier, though, and just scrunched up her face as Natsuko kept talking. What a trooper.

Meanwhile, Chiemi and Yohaku were speaking quietly on the first row of the left bleachers. They seemed to be engrossed in what the other was saying, cheerfully chatting and taking in the new information.

The people who were exploring, for the most part, did so separately. Saburo was checking out the black metal covering the windows. His face showed that he wasn't pleased with what he was learning. Meanwhile, Himukata was kneeling down, looking under the bleachers. He didn't seem to find anything of note, besides the spiderwebs and dust bunnies that had formed a small city down there. He chuckled a little at the thought.

Iko and Ritsu, however, were investigating together. More specifically, the were investigating the podium, making small talk.

"Hey, you said you were a lawyer, right?" Ritsu turned his head away from the odd scratches on the left side over to Iko, who was running his hands over the crest at the front.

"Huh? Oh, yep! Lawyer or attorney. Either one is fine." He smiled at the taller boy.

"So that means you must be smart! And from what I know about you so far, you seem sweet, too. Hmm... You're not very tall, and you have a cute, feminine face... That makes you the perfect candidate for the protagonist of a romantic visual novel!" Ritsu smacked his fist into his palm. "You'd go well with a more outgoing, strong tempered girl. Hmm, maybe Nobuko or Haru could be two of your love interests!"

Iko's cheeks went red. "Aha... A romance story? Oh, that's a bit much... My face isn't that feminine, right?" Self-consciously, he brought up his hand to touch his face.

Ritsu laughed. "Don't worry, I mean that in a good way!" With that he knelt down to investigate the floor.

Iko looked like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it and resigned to just look over the top of the podium.

"This is a bit odd..." Ritsu spoke quietly to himself as he touched the wooden floor behind the podium.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Iko looked down at the blonde, and knelt down next to him.

"Look closely." Ritsu ran his finger around the floor behind the podium. "It's a bit hard to see in this light, but there's a very slight outline. I think this is a trap door!"

Iko squinted. "... You're right! That's really weird! What sort of purpose could this serve?"

Before they could look over it more carefully, there was a rattling sound from under it. Quickly, both boys backed up, hurrying off the stage. The rattling got louder, and most of the students started slowly inching over to see what was wrong.

BANG!

The door swung open, and a projectile flew out, landing right on top of the podium.

... It was a monochrome teddy bear.

It was still for just a moment, lying face down on the podium. Then there was a 'click' and a whirring noise, and the bear popped to life, jumping up and standing on the edge of the podium. The white half bore a friendly, typical teddy bear face. The black half, however, bore a red slash for an eye, and a jagged, sharp grin.

"Hello, you bastards!" The bear squeaked out. His voice was unpleasant- it had a scratchy undertone that reminded most people of sandpaper. "Welcome to Hope's Peak Academy! I'm your headmaster, Monobear!" He bowed dramatically, throwing his paws into the air.

Nobody moved.

"... Headmaster...?" Chiasa cocked her head, looking confused. "But you're a stuffed bear!"

"It's probably just a joke. Don't worry." Haru nudged Chiasa, who didn't seem to be any less confused.

"Joke? Why, I'm no joke! I'm the cutest, cuddliest, realest headmaster you'll ever lay eyes on!" Monobear spoke up. Haru didn't look convinced.

"Anyways, I'm here to tell you bastards about the wonderful school life ahead of you! As you've noticed, the windows are all blocked off."

Those who didn't think too hard about the auditorium's appearance were now looking over at the black metal sheets, surprised.

"The outside doors are blocked off too! Of course, there aren't any in this room, but just look around this place, and you'll see!" Monobear giggled. "Upupu, Of course, this is all for a reason! You hopeful students all locked in here for life."

There were a few concerned murmurs throughout the crowd of students.

"Life? Come on, this isn't funny anymore." Kin took a small step towards the bear. "This could upset someone. Having us wake up in that room was creepy enough, alright?" They scowled at Monobear, who merely cocked his head at them.

"Huh? Oooh, I see! You think it's a joke! I can assure you this isn't a joke. You're going to be locked in this school until the day you die."

By now, a steady stream of panic was rising through the room. Shion's breathing was audibly picking up, getting faster and faster.

"Oh, but there is one way to get out!" Monobear beamed (as much as his single-expression face allowed him to).

"And what might that be?" Conner asked the bear with a furrowed brow.

"Easy! You just have to kill someone."

WHUMP WHUMP

Everyone spun around to see a collapsed Shion with a red face. Although nobody knew it at the time, she'd been suppressing a panic attack ever since the bear popped up. As soon as that last sentence was spoken, her breath stopped coming, and she fainted.

What they DID know at the time was that she'd fallen right into Akari, taking the ringleader down with her. Although this definitely cushioned Shion's fall, it meant Akari went back first into the hard floor. The ponytailed girl swore quietly.

"Ah, Akari, are you alright?" Yohaku, who was somehow managing to stay half-calm throughout this nightmare, leant down to help her up.

"Oh, yeah. I think I broke my tailbone, but I'm fine." She took his hand, squirming out from under Shion. "Thanks." She nodded politely in his direction before stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets.

It was now when Monobear spoke up again. "Great! Now that that mess is over, I can elaborate more. You can kill them however you want! Stabbing, shooting, poisoning, decapitating, choking, anything your little hopeful brains can dream up!" He twirled once, excitedly. "Once a body is discovered, we'll hold a school trial to find the culprit! And if you do that correctly, the black sheep will be executed! However, get it wrong..."

The bear cackled again.

"You'll all be executed, and the killer will be allowed to leave! So make sure you get it right!"

Before anyone could even speak up, Monobear kept going. "Anyways, I recommend you all check your pockets right now! Being such a thoughtful headmaster, I put a card in there for you!"

After a few seconds of being frozen in place, most students snapped back to the harsh reality and stuck their hands in their pockets to discover a thin, dimly glowing card.

"These are your Electronic Student ID cards! They include your name, age, gender, all that important stuff! There's a map of the school if you swipe to the left. It also serves as your room key, so don't lose it!"

Monobear scratched his chin. "Hmm, what else? Oh, yeah! The school rules are all listed on the card if you swipe up. Read those over, ok? Teenagers of today need to learn rules, so really, I'm helping you bastards!"

Finally, an angry voice came from the front. "Just knock it off already!" It was Umeko. "You're just some stupid stuffed toy trying to make us feel bad!" She stomped her feet angrily.

"Stupid? Umeko, that's not nice!" Monobear buried his face in his paws. "I'm bear-y hurt!"

"Umeko, please be careful." Olivier warned her. "It seems volatile."

"Stupid stupid stupid!" Umeko took three steps forward, grabbed Monobear off the podium, and shook him wildly. "Take that you stupid bear!"

"Umeko! You're a babysitter, don't you know not to shake babies?" Monobear, even though he was being violently rattled, maintained a clear voice. "Fine, I'll show you, missy!" Monobear went limp, and started to beep.

Umeko stopped shaking him. "What's wrong with you?" Suddenly, Chiasa gasped.

"U-Umeko! Get rid of it! T-That's a b-bomb!" The tomb builder screeched, panicking.

Umeko looked horrified. She turned to the crowd. "Take it!" She whipped it at Haru. Haru held it for a moment before yelping, dropping it, and kicking it as hard as she could into the air.

Which, for a Super High School Level Soccer Player, was very, VERY, hard.

Monobear flew almost straight up. Just before he hit the ceiling, he exploded, creating a boom that knocked most of the students onto the ground. Small bits of debris rained down on them.

"Umeko, you idiot!" Conner yelled, shielding his head with his hands. "You could have killed all of us!" Natsuko made a 'hmph' of approval.

"Shut up! Shut up! You're all so mean to me!" Umeko wailed, rocking back and forth on her knees.

"Umeko, please don't cry... Nobody wants to see you sad." By now, the debris had stopped falling, and Yohaku had gotten up to go squat next to the pigtailed girl. "You just made a little mistake. Ok?"

Before Umeko could respond, there was another BANG, and another Monobear jumped from the trap door, landing on the podium.

"You got lucky, Umeko! Next time, I'll make sure you're blown to bits." The bear laughed.

"M-Monobear!" Chiemi looked horrified. "That could have killed someone!"

"That's what I was hoping for! That's why I'm warning Umeko, silly! Oh, this reminds me: Rule number one is 'No violence against the headmaster'. I'll cut you all some slack, but if it happens again, you'll face the music!" Monobear cackled, throwing his head back.

"I should take my leave, but I think you should all find your rooms and get comfortable! You may not have the chance to for long! Goodbye for now, and enjoy your school life of mutual killing!" With that last announcement, Monobear jumped behind the podium. There was another banging noise, and then nothing.

"... Hmm. What an odd situation." Olivier broke the silence.

"Odd situation?" Himukata bent forward so he could see Olivier past the line of people. "This is more than just odd!"

"Not really," Olivier adjusted the strings on his black hoodie. "Death and murder are normal. I don't mean to say that it is pleasant, but it's just another aspect of life. But being in a situation like this? Now that's unusual."

"Maybe for you, but to me... Ah, I don't even want to think about it!" Himukata rubbed his arms anxiously before digging in his pocket. He pulled out a pixie stick, but also knocked his student ID card on the ground. "Oops!"

Chiasa picked it up for him. She looked at it, head cocked. "Ah, the map says the cafeteria is open." She brought a finger to her lips thoughtfully before giving it back to Himukata. "Maybe we could all meet there in an hour?"

"A great plan!" Akari clapped her hands together loudly, causing Chiemi to wince.

"Heh, sorry... I just have a migraine." Chiemi laughed awkwardly, tugging at the hem of her black tank top.

"Really? That must suck. Maybe there's medicine or something around here?" Akari cocked her head, black ponytail falling over her shoulders.

"I don't see an infirmary on the map. Perhaps we could ask the bear?" Yohaku was scrolling through his card, revealing a Japanese flag tattooed on the back of his right hand.

"... I don't think you should." A voice came from the back of the room. It was Itami. He hadn't moved from his spot on the edge of the bleachers since they got into the room.

"What a freak." Saburo mumbled. "Still, gotta agree with him. I don't think he'll give wannabe-goth here any medicine if he's tryin' to make us kill each other."

"Hey!" Chiemi barked, but grabbed her head again. "Ouch... "

From a few feet away, Haru noticed Chiasa becoming distressed again. Saburo did that to people, she guessed. Jerk. Although it was true Haru wasn't the most trusting of people she'd just met, she didn't want to see the poor girl break down again. Haru quickly made her way over to Chiasa, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Hey, the map says our rooms are next to each other. You and I should go there together."

Chiasa looked up from fiddling with the fabric of her long black skirt to meet the soccer player's eyes. "Ah... Alright, I'd like that." Chiasa looked nervously at the soccer player. As much as Haru seemed like a nice girl...

"Erm, Kin? Want to walk to the dorms with us?" Chiasa called out to the protester, who seemed to be far too shocked to protest their current situation. They turned to look at the pair before regaining their composure and smiling.

"Sure. It'd be nice to take my mind off of all this, right?" Kin trotted up to the pair. Just when they were about to take off...

"Haru-chaaaaaan!"

Natsuko practically jumped on Haru from behind. "Haru-chan, I'm scared! Can you guys take me with you?" Kin raised an eyebrow, and Chiasa just stared blankly at the blonde girl.

"Natsuko... You're a stranger. Look, I don't really trust strangers, ok?" Haru looked exasperated. Nobuko's eyes watered up.

"B-But Haru-chan! Don't leave me here with our stupid classmates..."

Haru groaned quietly. "Jesus christ- Ok, ok, fine."

"Yaaaaay! Thank you Haru-chan!" Nobuko hugged her tightly from behind, once again subjecting the poor girl to the feeling of Natsuko's chest against her head. The other two party members were mostly confused by Natsuko's sudden change of attitude. Where was the girl who threatened to kill Umeko earlier today? Regardless, the group of four exited the room, Natsuko clinging to Haru like a lost child the whole time.

Back in the auditorium, Ito, Ritsu and Himakata were talking quietly.

"You don't think he's serious about that, right?" Ritsu looked concerned. "I couldn't dream of killing anyone..."

"I'm sure he's not serious!" Iko tried to comfort the blonde. "That'd be incredibly illegal. And even if it is for real, the police will be on their way once they find out we're all missing."

"Iko's right!" Himakata smiled brightly. He was cute- in his own way. "This is probably just the upperclassmen hazing us, anyways. It'll be over in a flash!"

Ritsu smiled, along with Iko. Himakata's enthusiasm was contagious. "Yeah, for sure!" Ritsu thought about something for a minute. "Hey, do you two want to sleep in my dorm tonight? A sleepover sounds fun!"

"Definitely! How about you, Iko?" Himakata turned to Iko, who was looking a bit concerned.

"Uh, sure! I'd love to!" He eventually replied, adjusting his red tie while speaking.

"Sweet! Come on, let's go!" All three of them left out the same door the last group had parted from.

Akari looked down at Shion. "Uh, we should probably do something about her. It'd be pretty dangerous to leave her here with-" The ringleader jabbed a finger in the direction of Itami "- that guy."

Saburo chuckled, hands in his tan pants. "Hey, I'd happily take her to my room. I'll make sure she's comfortable." He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he meant something more than 'make her comfortable'.

Most everyone was disgusted by that joke, but Conner was the first to react. "That's disgusting. I know you're a gross asshole, but that's crossing the line. Only absolute pigs joke about taking advantage of an unconscious girl." Saburo turned sharply, his gold eyes meeting Conner's blue ones.

"Oh, so we've got Mister Moral High Ground here to rescue the damsel in distress? You're a fuckin' smartass, kid. All of you are." With that he took a cigarette and lighter from his pocket, flicking the lighter as he walked out of the room.

Olivier cracked a small smile. "That was good of you, Conner." Just as soon as it came, the smile disappeared, leaving the same blank expression.

"It certainly was!" Chiemi smiled. "I joke around a lot, but that Saburo's just a jerk."

"Perhaps that's the right wording. He must have something worthwhile to teach us... It's just hard to find." Yohaku sighed, scratching his ear. "Oh, Akari, I should have followed up. Are you alright? That was a hard fall."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm good. I've done a lot of tightrope walking. I know when it's a serious fall." She cracked a smile.

"So as long as you're not bleeding, or it doesn't need to be amputated, you're good?" Chiemi grinned at the black haired girl.

"Exactly! You could be a first aid worker at the circus!" Akari giggled. Both girls seemed pleased to be able to laugh over something, even in such a serious scenario.

"Hate to break up the gigglefest, but I'm going to my room. I'm being serious when I say don't kill each other, ok?" Conner dropped his hands in his parks pockets and headed for the door. Olivier nodded politely at the group.

"I should go as well. Take care."

After the forensic investigator had left, only Yohaku, Chiemi, Akari, Shion, Umeko and Itami remained. Soon, Umeko made some half-hearted excuse to go, and Itami didn't even speak at all, only giving the smallest of glances to the group as he left. Not long after, the small talk switched to the subject of Shion.

"I can carry Shion out. Would it be alright to place her in your room, Akari?" Yohaku asked. Akari looked down at the girl.

"Sure. I'll make sure that creep Saburo doesn't get to her while she's unconscious." The ringleader smiled, rocking back and forth on her brown boots.

"That's good of you, Akari. Shion would probably prefer waking up near someone who could explain what happened, rather than being alone in a strange room." Chiemi affirmed the idea.

Soon, the remainder had all left, talking and laughing a bit. Still, the heavy reality of this situation hung over their heads. No matter how badly they wanted to believe this was a joke, a part of them-some large, some small- knew that it wasn't.

You know, it's important to listen to that little part of you. It's usually right.

A/N: Chapter 2! Thank you guys, and I hope to update again sometime this week!


	4. Ugh, Who Invited Monobear?

**Hi again!**

**Sorry for the longer wait. School was busy, I started a new job, and to top it all off, I was already a bit stumped with what to do here. But I did finally get around to writing the chapter! And now that winter break is coming up, we should have some more, exciting chapters! Awesome, right?**

**LightBlueRoses:**  
**Oh man, I wasn't on Fanfiction when that happened, but I think I might have heard about it once. Just to be on the safe side, I took SYOC out of the description.**

**ThirdDespairSister:**  
**Thanks! Ahh, I'm so happy I got your character right! I really hope I'm doing that well for everyone!**

**Martial Arts Master:**  
**Heh, that's Saburo for you. He certainly must have something he can teach us- even if it is "Who to not befriend".**

**BlazeBlu:**  
**Thank you! And I'm not sure at the moment. Given the current chapter sizes, possibly 30 or so! We'll have to see, though.**

**Alright! Enough of me and on to the chapter!**

As each person eventually retreated into their separate rooms (with a few exceptions), the feeling of despair seemed to be growing. It felt like it was seeping through cracks and mixing in with the musty school air that surrounded the entire premises. Most made their best efforts to ignore it, but it was certainly there.

Over in Akari's room, Shion was regaining consciousness. As the latter girl was trying to get up, she felt a gentle push on her shoulder.

"Don't strain yourself, ok?" Akari's voice entered her ears, and she looked over at the ringleader. "Just get up slowly."

Following the advice, Shion resigned herself to just sitting up, resting her back against the backboard of the bed. Her hands resting on pink sheets, she looked over at Akari worriedly.

"Was it you that I knocked down? I'm sorry. I just... Well, the whole situation..." Shion started talking quicker, but Akari just shushed her.

"It's all in the past. Tell me when you feel ready to get up, ok?"

After a few silent moments, Shion started inching towards the edge of the bed. Akari got up to help her up, and soon enough, the lucky girl was standing on her own two feet, even though she was clutching tightly to the ringleader's arm.

"Just balance yourself. That was a hard fall." Akari guided her through a few shaky steps before Shion loosened her grasp and toddled about on her own two feet, black loafers squeaking a bit on the floor.

"You're alright?"

Shion turned her head to smile at the ponytailed girl. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Luck is sort of my thing."

"Ah, I'd guess. So we should head down to the cafeteria now." Akari noticed the perplexed look Shion was giving her. "Um, we... I'll tell you once we're there and you're sitting down, ok?"

Shion raised an eyebrow, but said nothing and just followed the girl out the door.

"So... You're a ringleader, huh?" Shion cocked her head, fluffy black hair tumbling about.

"Yep! The first female ringleader in my family, actually!" Akari beamed and adjusted her white tank top, revealing the black tank top it was layered over.

"Oh, that's really neat! Cooler than my reason for being here." Shion chuckled, pulling at the hem of her school cardigan.

"Aw, don't say that! Being lucky is cool!"

"My luck isn't that cool... I'm lucky, but it's like I take luck away from people around me. Like how I fell on you. I think it was you, anyways."

"Huh? That's... Actually very interesting!" Akari looked down at her with shining yellow eyes. "There must be some force at work. You should ask Chiemi."

The two continued walking, making small talk all the while until they reached the cafeteria. They were the last two to get there.

"You're late..." Umeko mumbled. She was tucked into herself, her grey skirt pressed against her knees as she rocked back and forth on her chair.

"Give them a break." Connor rolled his eyes. "Ok, sit down."

After both girls were seated, there was a pause.

"Akari, did you get around to telling Shion what the bear said?" Kin asked, resting their chin on their hands.

"No. I figured we'd have better results telling her as a group, right?" Akari responded.

No one replied, as they were all trying to figure out how to put this. Shion was getting more and more concerned by the second, eyes darting about for answers. Kin cleared their throat.

"Well, it's definitely not a preferred situation, and you should just remind yourself that it's going-"

"We have to kill each other to get out." Itami interrupted.

"Itami!"

"What."

While the two of them squabbled on, Shion was getting visibly distressed again. Not needing another repeat of earlier that day, Himukaru (who had been sitting next to her) reached over to mess her hair.

"Don't worry. Even if it isn't a joke, the police will be coming soon! Here, this will help." He tugged a gummy bear packet from his pocket (did he have some sort of subspace jeans?), offering them to Shion, who quietly thanked him and took a few.

Kin and Itami had stopped with the back-and-forth, Kin stewing in their seat and Itami picking at his cuticles.

Saburo spoke up. "So if you two are done with that hissy fit, we should probably start figurin' out how to get out of here, right?"

"I jogged around most of the floor." Haru drummed her fingers on the table. "All the windows look just like those ones." She pointed to the windows all around the cafeteria, all covered by the black metallic sheets. "I found what I guess was SUPPOSED to be the main doors, but it was covered by these huge grate-things, and a bunch of locks and stuff. So the front doors' out."

"Oh! Oh! Iko, Himukaru, let's tell them what we found!" Ritsu grinned. "When we were going back to my room, we saw stairs!"

"Stairs?" Olivier cocked his head.

"They were covered up by these huge iron bars, though." Iko added. "I don't think they're breakable."

"Ah. I'd assume we're going to be confined to the first floor for the entirety of this game, then." Just as Olivier had finished his conclusion, another voice burst in.

"Bzzzt! No, that's wrooooong!"

Chiasa screamed and tumbled backwards off her chair as Monobear appeared right in front of her.

"Upupu! Sorry to make a surprise entrance, but I can't BEAR to watch you make such an assumption, Olivier! How boring would it be if I made you all stay on one floor? Super boring! Not even despair-inducingly boring! Just plain, old boring. So as soon as there's a murder, I'll unlock another part of the school for you! That's fun, right?"

Monobear paused before gasping.

"Look at me, rambling on! How BEAR-y rude of me! I didn't even announce the second reason I came here- which was to give you your first motive!"

"Motive?" Chiasa, who was still on the floor, has regained her bearings, but was keeping a safe distance away from the bear.

"M-M-Motiiiive!" Monobear sung out. "A motive to make sure you all kill each other like good little students! Anyways, our motive here is easy- If nobody kills in 24 hours, I'll take it upon kill one of your family members, or a precious friend! Here, have a card, take a card!"

Monobear produced a set of cards from seemingly out of nowhere. He waltzed around the table, throwing them at students.

"Take a peek! I'm sure it's in your best interests to know who might be!" Monobear chirped.

Gasps and whimpers erupted around the room as the students discovered who Monobear was threatening death upon.

"You... You aren't possibly serious!" Chiemi was staring at the paper in her hands. She was clutching it so tight, you'd think she thought letting it drop meant the person would get the axe.

"Of course I'm serious! I am a very honest bear!" Monobear beamed. "Anyways, I'll leave you kids alone with that. Remember, 24 hours!"

With those final words, Monobear vanished, leaving a shocked table of kids with their papers.

"... Fuck it." Saburo got up so fast that it threw back his chair. It crashed against the wall. "Fuck this, fuck you, fuck this fucking school." He spun around and went for the door. Nobody called out to him.

"C-Come on, we can't let it get to us." Even Yohaku seemed shaken by the announcement.

"... Right. Right." Chiemi got up, getting herself back in order before walking around the table. Her converse squeaked on the shining linoleum floor as she spoke. "We can't let this control us. I think we all need to work together find our way out of here"

"W-Why?! So you can hide in the shadows and stab one of us in the back when we least expect it?!" Umeko snapped, shoving back her own chair. "I'm watching you! I'm w-watching all of you!" She ran around the table, shoving Chiemi out of the way as she made a dash for the door.

"U-Umeko! Please wait!" Iko yelled. It was a lost cause, as the babysitter was long gone by then.

"Tempers are running high. I think we should all go back to our rooms, either alone or in groups of three or larger." Olivier got up, sighing. "Be careful. Please don't do something you'll regret." He left as well, out the same door as Umeko.

Conner sighed, rubbing his temples. "I'm not in the mood to deal with your emotional breakdowns right now, so don't come looking for me." He pushed back his chair, heading out through the far door.

Talk burst out among the remaining students, arrangements being made, or comfort being offered.

"Um... Hey, Yohaku?" Chiemi, who had gotten herself off the ground, was looking nervously at the astronaut. "Maybe we should get someone to come with us? I think what Olivier said was probably a good idea." She whispered.

Yohaku nodded. "He's very intelligent... There's a lot he could teach all of us. Who do you suggest?"

She thought for a moment. "Let's bring Kin. They seem pretty levelheaded, right?"

"That's a good idea." Yohaku got up to tap the frozen protester on the shoulder. "Kin? Chiemi and I were wondering if you'd be interested in spending some time with us. Olivier's suggestion is something we should all take into mind."

They remained still before straightening their shoulders and turning to Yohaku with a nervous smile.

"Heh, maybe I should. Being alone would probably be bad for me in the long run." They got up, stuffing the paper in their pink short's pocket and following Yohaku to where Chiemi was standing.

"So, where would you like to go?" Chiemi smiled at the new addition.

"Hmm..." Yohaku pulled his card out from the pocket of his jumpsuit, scrolling around. "We can go to the kitchen. Maybe there's a recipe book?"

"Sure. I can teach you how to make ice cream!" Kim looked up at the two taller students, glad to have some sort of distraction.

"Cool! How do you do that?" Chiemi perked up at the possibility.

"Well, first you have to get milk, rock salt..." Their voice became distant as the group moved away from the table and towards the kitchen. This left just a few.

"So, I guess you two are coming with me?" Haru looked at Chiasa and Natsuko, resting her elbows on the table.

"That'd be nice. I've never had a sleepover with friends before!" Chiasa looked really excited at the prospect, although the worry over what she found on her card remained etched on her face.

"Wait, sleepov-" Haru started, but was interrupted by someone cutting off her flow of oxygen.

"SLEEPOVER!" Natsuko squealed in excitement, hugging both girls as tight as she could. "Sleepover sleepover sleepover!"

"You're having a sleepover too?" Ritsu looked up from across the table. It seemed that everyone had left, excluding these two groups. A few of them left when nobody was looking, it seemed.

"Yes! A sleepover with my beeeeeeeest girlfriends!" Natsuko continued squeezing her newfound friends (at least, that's how SHE thought of them) until Haru started whacking her arm. Releasing her sleeper hold on the two of them, she put a hand on her hip and smiled at Ritsu.

"Me and the guys are having one. Bet it'll be better!" Ritsu grinned, motioning over Iko and Himukata.

"What is it, Ritsu?" Iko asked, noticing the girls chatting among themselves (ie: Natsuko talking at both of them at the speed of light).

"They're having a sleepover too!" Ritsu grinned, tugging at the blue wool sweater that had fallen off of his shoulder, reveal the off-white dress shirt underneath.

"Really? Maybe we could-" Himukata started off, but was interrupted by Natsuko.

"Come with us! It'll be a party!" Natsuko waved her arms. "We can play spin the bottle, and never have I ever, and truth or dare, and and and-" Natsuko took a big breath, and looked like she was about to continue, but Chiasa touched her arm.

"Um, maybe we shouldn't. I don't think-"

"That's a great idea!" Himakuta seemed excited. "A party! I love parties! I can bring candy!"

"Awesome!" Natsuko and Himakuta were talking at each other quickly, planning it out.

"Iko! Iko! Come here, Iko!" Natsuko grabbed his arm, pulling the lawyer over. They started going over her plans with the black haired boy, who looked very overwhelmed.

Chiasa chuckled weakly. "Party it is, then."

"I swear, I'll punch her lights out if she hugs me again. I don't want to die by suffocating against her boobs." Haru muttered.

"Heh, she'll keep the party alive, I'm sure." Ritsu looked from side to side before leaning over to whisper to them, his ratty sneakers squeaking on the chair as he propped himself on it so that his small stature could reach the girls. "I think we should try to get Natsuko and Iko together."

"Huh?" Haru looked confused. "How do you know that that'll work?"

"I'm a visual novel creator! It's just what comes with my talent. For example, you measure how far the ball will go based off the angle and force of your kick- including any objects and external forces in your path-"

"Not really. I just kick the damn thing." She muttered.

"-Not now, Haru. Just like you can measure that, I can measure the success level of a relationship based off of personalities. A carnivore girl and a herbivore guy- they'd go great together!" Ritsu finished, clapping his hands together and sitting back down.

Chiasa, who was seemingly locked in a trance for most of that, broke into a smile. "Wow! You've thought this out, haven't you?"

Ritsu looked proud. "Of course! I'm good at what I do!"

Just then, Natsuko, Himakuta and Iko returned to the table, each taking a seat.

"So, ready to go? We decided that it'll be held in my room!" Himakuta grinned. "It's cause I have the candy!"

"See! Brilliant! Come on, I wanna go, I wanna goooooooo!" Natsuko kicked her feet, almost letting her brown loafers fly off her feet. "Haru-chan and Chi-chan wanna go too, right?"

"Chi-chan?" Chiasa pondered.

"That's a yes! My best galpals want to go now!" Natsuko squealed and hugged pulled both girls up and towards her, hugging them tightly. Haru's screech of terror and anger was muffled against Natsuko's chest

"Heh, alright! Come on, guys! Let's go!" Ritsu slapped both boys on the backs before hopping to his feet. He was followed by a bustling group, each chattering away, the sinister motive seemly gone forever from their minds.

Somewhere in the school, the mastermind chuckled.

**A/N: Ok! So the next chapter should be up sometime Wednesday, considering that this was originally one huge chapter, but I split it in half. I'm already about half done the next chapter.**

**I'd like to bring this up with you guys now. This, of course, is a Dangan Ronpa SYOC. That means people will die. Please don't get angry if I kill your OC! I'm a sensitive baby who's not capable of dealing with angry people. So just be aware, ok?**

**As per usual, please review! They really do keep me going.**


	5. Ice Cream Makers and Sleepover Capers

Hello hello! Just as promised, a chapter on Wednesday! Get ready for some fluffy friendship building, and some cliché sleepover shenanigans!

It's worth noting that not every character has dialogue or an appearance in this chapter. If I ended up writing that for everyone, this chapter would drag on. Don't worry, though, everyone will get a very similar amount of screen time!

Martial Arts Master:  
I should put a bit of explanation here. Only four people actually put victim or that they didn't care on their submission, so for this chapter, I killed someone who didn't request victim. This is a good time to bring up that THAT WAS ONLY OPTIONAL. I have absolutely no guarantees to what will happen. That's why I'm saying to not get upset, because of course, this is DR! Death is the main plot point.

Anyways, lets have the chapter now, shall we?

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, an astronaut boy, a medium girl, and a protester enby were making ice cream.

"Keep shaking the bags! The more you shake it, the yummier it will be!" Kin called out to their two partners in cooking, all of them shaking an individual bag full of ice, milk, and a variety of other ingredients.

Chiemi was giggling, watching the ingredients bounce about in her bag. Yohaku seemed mesmerized by the reactions his shaking was creating.

"So, you've made this before, I presume?" Yohaku looked over at the dark skinned girl.

"Yep. I think I learned this at a protest in New York. Wall Street, I think. One of the protesters had a fridge she plugged into the wall. Taught a whole group of us how to make it, and we ended up making it for most of the protesters." Kin reminisced, shaking the bag. "It's a good way to keep everyone's spirits up."

"What a nice story!" Chiemi smiled. "So you've been to America?"

"Yep. I'm biracial- half Japanese, half African American- so I spent a lot of time there. It's where my cousins are." Their face became downcast, just for a moment. "My oldest cousin is the one Monobear is threatening, actually..."

Yohaku stopped shaking his bag, putting one hand on their shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be fine, Kin... The police will make sure of that. They wouldn't let that happen to them. Even... Even if they aren't coming to rescue us, they'll help them."

"You think so?" Kin smiled. "Thanks. I'm just worried for them, I guess."

"They'll all be ok." Yohaku smiled. "I promise."

"But the ice cream might not be if we keep talking!" Chiemi grabbed her bag back off the counter, shaking it. The two others giggled and did the same. In a matter of minutes, they'd finished the ice cream, and scooped it into bowls. Eating away at it, the three took the opportunity to learn more about each other.

"So, you know a little about me," Kin took a break to take a bite of their ice cream. "Now, I want to know a little about you two!"

"Hmm..." Chiemi thought for a little. "I guess my talent's probably worth speaking about. I have clairaudience, clairsentience, some minor telepathic ability, and a faint sense of precognition. Hopefully that doesn't weird you out too much."

"No way! I think it's really cool!" Kin crossed their legs on their chair. "What about you, Yohaku?"

"Hmm, it's a bit of a long story... Well, I went from America to Russia when I was young. I was in an orphanage until then. They were wonderful people. They nurtured my curiosity, took care of me... Unfortunately, there was an accident at a construction site, and both of them perished."

"Oh, Yohaku, I'm so sorry." Chiemi reached out an arm to touch his shoulder.

"Thank you, Chiemi. You're a thoughtful soul. From there, I was adopted by the Mirus, who live here. Once I graduate, there are several space institutions ready to accept me. So the future really is full of hope. You just have to look a little closer sometimes." Yohaku finished and took a nibble of his ice cream.

"That's a nice thought to keep with us." Chiemi smiled.

The three continued, making bonds and sharing plots to escape. Perhaps it was just in these three, but hope was really blossoming, like a flower in it's prime.

Beautiful, bright, and frighteningly easy to destroy.

00000000

Somewhere in the school, Conner was entering his dorm for the first time. He'd spent most of his time wandering around the school, not really buying everyone else's descriptions of no escape. That'd be outrageous. However, outrageous wasn't always hand in hand with untrue. The descriptions were true, and a dejected Conner was dragging himself to his room.

He opened the door, and looked around.

Wait. That's not how it was supposed to be. He'd seen- He'd seen the insides of Olivier's and Umeko's dorms briefly as they opened or closed the doors. He wasn't supposed to have this. There must have been a mistake.

It hit him like a pound of bricks.

That FUCKING bear.

With a furious yelp, he slammed the door shut, rushing off to- fuck it, he didn't know. Anywhere but there.

00000000

Meanwhile, in Himakuta's room, the boys were seated, waiting for the girls to come along.

"Girls are so slooooow! Why does it take so long to put on pajamas?" Himakuta groaned, collapsing backwards dramatically. His oversized pajama sleeves flailed about with his arms.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon. They wouldn't want to miss out on the party!" Iko smiled.

"Of course not!" Agreed Ritsu. "Hey, Iko, don't get heatstroke!" The lawyer Ritsu was referring to was wearing a big, loose hoodie that covered most of his form along with thick flannel pajama pants- a change from his business suit. "Are you sure you're fine with that? I can give you one of my old t-shirts or something."

Iko was about to respond, but was interrupted by a noise by the door.

BANG BANG

"Himakuta? Iko? Ritsu? It's us!" Chiasa's voice was muffled on the other side of the door.

Ritsu hopped to his feet, hurrying to open up the door. Standing there were the three girls, each carrying a small bag.

"Hi Ritsu." Chiasa smiled gently at the blond boy. She rocked on her feet, feet touching her too-large grey polka dotted pajama pants.

"Hmph." Haru was next to her, not looking too interested in the whole thing. Her navy blue hair was tied up in a ponytail, making the highlights and black streaks even more noticeable. She looked oddly pale.

Ritsu smiled at all of them, quickly checking his green pajama top for stains. Wouldn't want to look like a hobo in front of the ladies, now.

"Hi Chiasa! Hi Haru! Hi Natsu- woah."

He stopped upon seeing Natsuko turn the corner. She was wearing a baby blue nightgown with a very short hem. The low cut top was ruffled with white lace, and two baby blue ribbons. Not exactly traditional sleepover attire, unless you were attending a sleepover in a 13-year old boy's first wet dream.

"Sorry I'm late, Rit-chan! I couldn't find my slippers!" She wiggled her foot, which bore a white bunny slipper.

"Uh, that's fine! All of you come on in!" Ritsu stepped back, letting all three of them enter the room.

Iko and Himakuta greeted all of them, although both of them took a double take at Natsuko. If she noticed, she didn't say anything. She just sat herself down on the floor and waited for everyone else to find a seat.

"Alright! Now that everyone's here, what should we do?" Himakuta asked the circle.

Before anyone could suggest anything, Ritsu jumped in to kick his plan into motion. "Let's play Spin the Bottle!"

"What's that?" Chiasa cocked her head at him.

"You put an empty bottle in the centre of a circle, and spin it around. And whoever it lands on..." Ritsu giggled. "You have to kiss!"

Chiasa squeaked and blushed. "Eh? But wouldn't Monobear get angry with us?"

"No, of course not. This is an essential party game!" With that statement, Ritsu victorious revealed... An empty coke bottle. He thrust it in the air like a king ready to ride off into battle with his sword.

"Let's do it!" And without any time for interjections, the bottle was in the middle of the circle, spinning wildly.

"Whoever this lands on will go first!" Ritsu yelled out, distance in his eyes as he started working on a plan to get Iko and Natsuko together.

It spun and pointed right towards Natsuko. Huh. Maybe he wouldn't need to do any big complicated plan, anyways. With an excited squeal, Natsuko spun the bottle again, watching it twirl around and around, until it finally landed on... Haru.

Ok. Not the preferred outcome, but not the end of the world.

Haru stared at the bottle for a second before it clicked. "No. No. You're not making me ki-"

"Don't worry, Haru-chan!" And with that, Natsuko scooted over, grabbed Haru's head, pulled her close, and kissed the soccer player on the lips. "See? That wasn't so bad!"

Haru stuttered, face going from pale to red as she pushed the other girl away. "Ew! You're gross! Yuck, I can taste your tongue!" The blue haired girl made gagging noises.

"Hehe, you're so funny, Haru-chan! Some advice- open your mouth more next time! It'll be better." Natsuko giggled.

Huffily, Haru turned around and started at the wall, muttered curses under her breath. Iko giggled. "Maybe that's the end of spin the bottle for now?"

"It might just be! Because Haru's just a big grumpy pants, aren't you?" Natsuko put on a fake, cute little girl voice and hugged her from behind.

"Get off of me..." The soccer player hissed, struggling with the ballerina's grasp.

"Aw! Ok then..." Natsuko's face retorted into one of anger- like they'd seen early that morning- before going back to the usual air headed demeanour. "Ri-chan! Can I make a suggestion for what to do next?"

"Sure! Whatcha got, Natsuko?" The visual novel creator smiled at the other blonde.

"Horror movies!" Digging into her bag, Natsuko tugged out a pile of DVDs, throwing them on the bed. "They were in my suitcase! I packed them when I came here. I have I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Conjuring, Hostel 2, Mama, The Purge, and a whole bunch more! Take your pick!"

Ritsu and Himakuta, for the most part, seemed fine with it, and started digging through the movies. Chiasa, Iko, and Haru, on the other hand, looked petrified.

"Um... Natsuko? Maybe we shouldn't..." Whispered Chiasa, twisting her curly blond locks between her fingers.

"I don't know... Erm, Haru? Are you alright?" Iko looked over at Haru, who was staring, terrified, at the covers.

"Oh god, I hate horror movies... I saw you pack them in your bag, and... Oh, I hate them!" She wailed, all visible toughness disappearing.

"Aw, don't worry Haru! I'll keep you safe!" Himakuta bounced off the bed to pat her on the head. "Ok?"

"... Yeah. W-Whatever." Haru let him help her up, going over to sit next to him on the floor. Ritsu retained a giggle- he could smell a crush blooming.

"And I'll keep you two safe! " Natsuko motioned over Chiasa and Iko, who reluctantly came over. She tucked them affectionately under her arms, like a mother bird. "Ri-chan, you're strong! Protect all of us!" She batted her eyelashes at him, sticking out her tongue jokingly. Huh- she had a tongue piercing.

"Certainly, princess Natsuko!" He did an over the top salute, and she burst into hysterics. While she was doing that, Himakuta was looking through her collection.

"Hmm... Friday the 13th, Evil Dead, Chucky, Blood Feast... Oh! Let's watch Saw!"

Everyone was certainly a bit surprised by his selection, but nobody wanted to tell this cute little kid no. Without any protests, he crawled up, popped it into the TV at the front of the room, and sat back on the floor with Haru.

Soon, whether they liked it or not, everyone was engrossed in the gory film about how far you'd go to stay alive. Looking back? Probably not the best selection in this scenario.

Just as Zep was being beaten to death with a toilet tank cover, there was a loud HISS from the TV, cutting off the footage. Everyone screamed, gasped, or made some other shocked noise simultaneously, but managed to regain their composure by the time Monobear appeared on the screen, holding a cocktail.

"Attention you bastards! A body has been discovered! Following a brief investigation period, we will hold our first school trial. I'll offer you a hint- try the auditorium!"

The group looked around in horror at each other. This wasn't some torture porn movie anymore- this was reality. Without a word, they all got up, retrieving their shoes, and made for the door.

They noticed several others among them, all equally silent, save for their feet pattering on the floor, echoing through the dark hallways. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be...

They made it to the auditorium. As soon as the doors were pushed open, someone whimpered audibly. A trail of blood, leading towards the floor below the podium. Getting closer, it was painfully obvious who it was.

Akari Tachibana, SHSL Ringleader.

Her yellow eyes were wide open, if somewhat glazed over. Her sweet, smiling face was forever locked into one of terror. Her hair was out of its ponytail, crusted with blood that also leaked down her face. Red splatters covered her pajamas, and the floor around her.

But the most disturbing aspect was the most obvious- the knife that was sticking out of her heart.

AKARI TACHIBANA, SHSL RINGLEADER, HAS BEEN FOUND DEAD.

A/N: Well, there's that! I'm so sad to see Akari go, but the sweethearts in the mutual killing games aren't the lucky ones.

Notes: The Tvs in this story are not in the corner, but rather on a stand in front of the bed.

"Enby" is a term like boy or girl that's used to refer to people who identify as a non-binary gender. Non-binary = NB = Enby. Get it?

Instead of the "three people finding the body" rule, Monobear announces it two hours after the death.

Alright! See you again soon!


	6. Extinguish The Mystery

**Er, hello! I don't really have much to say here, ehehe. I think everyone gets at least a minor role? Regardless, it's only part one of the investigation. Prayer circle for poor Akari, anyone?**

**00000000000**

Nobody moved.

For almost 10 seconds, it was a pure, untouched silence.

Then the screaming.

It exploded out of Umeko's mouth like a nail bomb, and triggered a chain reaction of shrieks and wails and cries that echoed all around the auditorium. Somebody rushed around the bleachers to throw up.

The screams kept going and amplified and broke glass and windows and souls and-

"Chiemi!"

Chiemi was pulled back to reality by Yohaku, who was kneeling over her with an incredibly worried face. "Chiemi, are you alright? You fell hard against the bleachers edge..."

"I thought you were having a seizure. What kind of SHSL Physic can't handle death?" Conner spoke with the usual cross tone, but his eyes were still glued to Akari's corpse, fear visible in them.

"Um... Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, ok?" Chiemi laughed nervously before getting to her feet. Her bronze eyes glanced over at Akari, and quickly moved back to the ground. How could this have happened..? Just yesterday, she'd been giggling with her in the auditorium. And now, a day later in the same place, her cold, dead body was lying on the ground.

"A... A-Akari..." A small voice squeaked out from the door. It was Shion.

The poor girl. The first friend she has gets killed the first night there. Some luck she had. Although, looking at the body, you had to feel a lot worse for Akari.

"... This is my fault..." Shion whispered. "This is my fault!" Her voice rose to a shriek, and her face contorted into one of horror. She tried to run out the doors, but the back of her sweater was snatched, sending her bottom first into the ground. The person who had grabbed her was... Umeko?

"Get ahold of yourself!" The babysitter spun Shion around, slapping her across the face. "You can't be scared anymore! You have to help us, got it?!" Umeko's cold, grey eyes bore into Shion, who was currently a sniffling mess.

"She was m-my friend!" Shion wailed, hand holding her cheek. "Akari was my friend! And now she's... Akari is..."

"Stop!" Yelped Umeko. "Stop it! You can cry later!" She shook the girl's shoulders. Shion whimpered for a few more seconds before swallowing and quieting herself.

"O-Ok..."

"Good." Umeko tugged a white hanky from her skirt pocket, dabbing away at Shion's tears. "Rule number one is that you don't let them see you cry. You can go from there." She stuffed it back in her pocket, and stood up to meet the shocked eyes of the others.

"What?!" Umeko snapped. "Tell me, what?" Everyone's eyes diverted from the black haired girl, who huffed and fussed with her school bow.

"Um..." A shaking Iko raised his hand. "... So we should... Investigate...?"

"My thoughts exactly." Olivier pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of his pants pocket while he trotted over to Akari. He squatted down besides her, and started off by prying open her jaws to check the inside of her mouth. "Poor thing. Saburo. Make yourself useful and check the ID card for information."

The blond boy scoffed at him, but was still visibly shaken by the murder, so he did as the forensic investigator said, scrolling through the card. Before he could speak...

"Olivier!" Himakuta gasped. "You can't just do that to a corpse..!"

"Of course I can," The brown haired boy shrugged. "It's just a body. I've worked with them a lot before. If we investigate, we can avenge Akari." He let go of her jaws and started touching her neck. "Just remind yourself this isn't really Akari. It's just her corpse."

That statement was only slightly helpful, but enough so that a few people were able to relax enough to do more than just stare blankly. Himakuta was not one of them.

"But that's not right! Seriously, what in fresh hell is this place?" He buried his face in his hands, groaning.

"Yo, asshole. You gonna let me start?" Saburo shot a death glare at Himakuta before reading the card aloud.

"Victim: Akari Tachibana. Victim age: 16. Approx time of death: 9:00pm. Cause of death: Cranium damage." Saburo finished reading and shoved it back in his pocket. "Alright, what now?"

"We use it to investigate, of course." Olivier answered.

"Cranium damage? But... The knife..." Kin raised a shaking hand towards the body.

"That's some weird shit." Natsuko muttered, all signs of her perky personality gone again.

"Isn't it? Just let me check that..." Olivier tugged down the corpse's shirt to investigate the knife wound further.

"H-Hey!" Chiasa called. "You can't just pull down someone's shirt like that..."

Olivier sighed, rubbing his temples. "Chiasa, this isn't a someone. It's a corpse. It'll be better in the long run. Haru, come here. I need someone strong for this."

Haru awkwardly patted the tomb builder on the shoulder before ducking her head and hurrying over to the body.

"Good. Now just pull this knife out for me."

"W-What?!" Haru gaped at the boy. "You're out of your mind!"

"I'm not. If you don't do it, I'll have no choice but to assume there's a sinister motive behind it." Olivier responded curtly.

Haru made a few troubled noises before hesitantly reaching forward and taking the knife's handle in her hands. With a deep breath, she pulled her arms back, yanking it out of Akari's chest. Luckily, no blood spurted out of the body, but that didn't stop the terrified squeak Haru produced as the old blood dropped off the blade.

Sensing when someone was at their limit, Olivier gently took the knife from Haru. "Good job. Maybe you'd have better luck collecting alibis with the group?" Haru remained still before nodding and hurrying back to the group. Olivier stood up to face the group, knife in hand.

"We need to make a plan to make sure this goes smoothly. Conner, you help me with the body. Himakuta, you and Iko look for evidence. Kin, collect alibis with Haru." He finished curtly and looked around at the nervous crowd. "If anyone has any ideas on what in fresh hell happened here, feel free to tell me. In addition, if you have any information or ideas of what to do, I'm interested in hearing it."

There was silence, before Chiemi nervously raised her hand. "Uh... You're going to think I'm nuts, but I feel like we should be checking out the cafeteria. I... Can't explain why, but I feel like we just should."

Olivier nodded. "I'll take anything right now. Umeko, you and Shion follow Chiemi to the cafeteria. The rest of you should look around. Remember everything you can."

Slowly, the group dispersed. Olivier was a voice of order in a nightmarish situation, and they clung to that.

Conner stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and made his way over to Olivier. Kneeling down beside the other boy, he looked over the corpse. "Alright... So what do I do?"

"Look around the body for any other clues to what might have happened. If you see anything suspicious, tell me. I'll be looking up here." Olivier started poking through Akari's hair, gloved hands patting her skull.

Conner looked towards the body, swallowing his nerves before looking away and letting his eyes search the area around her instead. Noticing something odd, he inched closer to her, tugging a small piece of paper out of her pocket.

"That's... Weird." He mumbled.

"Hm? What did you find?" Olivier turned his head to look at the playwright.

"There's a note. It's kind of ripped up, though." Conner smoothed it out the best he could and read it aloud.

"Hi Aka-chan! I just wanted to say thanks for helping me this morning :3 I was thinking maybe we could get something to eat? I can make you crepes! Sorry for slipping the note under the door, I just couldn't find you, hehe. Anyways, I'll be in the cafeteria! Just come find me whenever! -Shion."

Conner finished and looked at Olivier. "Let me guess- This isn't going to be the case-solving piece of evidence?"

A smile ticked on the edge of Olivier's mouth before disappearing again. "Most likely. How did you guess? Watch a lot of Law and Order?" He went back to pawing through Akari's hair, picking through pieces of bone.

"Nope. I'm a playwright, remember? For an investigator, you don't remember stuff well. I write mysteries sometimes, too. And the most important thing to remember when writing them is that you can't make it easy." Conner put the note aside.

"A good observation." Olivier ignored the jab at him in that statement and pulled out a few bone fragments from Akari's hair. "No doubt, she was killed by head trauma. The knife seemed to have been stuck in after Akari died." Olivier kept going as he sorted through her hair. "My best guess is that it was used to try to throw us off. The culprit must not have known that the cause of death is also broadcasted." He bit his lip. "Something I don't understand is this," Olivier brushed his hands over the white foam that was on Akari's clothes. "I'm not sure what this is."

Conner leant over, squinting at Olivier's fingers. "... That's the stuff they put in fire extinguishers. There was a fire in this store I was in once, and the worker used an extinguisher on it. That's exactly what it looks like. Smells like it, too." He crinkled his nose.

"It smells like a children's wading pool." Olivier noted before wiping off the foam and looking around the body.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt..." Conner pointed behind Akari. "But that might be something you're interested in..."

Olivier looked to where the other boy was pointing. There, written out in crimson red on the ground, were the words "Snow White".

Neither one spoke for a moment. Then Conner broke the silence. "I take it that this one might be a little important?"

0000000

Meanwhile, a group of three had headed off to the cafeteria. Umeko had a still-trembling Shion clutching her arm while Chiemi lead the way.

"Why are you taking us here? If I find out you're trying to throw off the investigation, I won't forgive you." Umeko spoke curtly while petting Shion's hair as if she was a child as they neared the cafeteria.

"I'm not. I just had this feeling, you know? It comes with being a medium." Chiemi shrugged and pushed open the metal doors to the lunchroom.

Whatever feeling Chiemi had, it was right. Benches were knocked over, and the wall was covered in dents, and there was a huge blood splatter against the far wall. Shion squeaked, Chiemi gasped, and Umeko merely ground her teeth together as everyone took in the scene.

"Oh my god..." Chiemi muttered bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

"... We should look around. See if there's anything of importance." Umeko mumbled, pulling Shion along. Chiemi followed.

Umeko and Chiemi started looking under tables, inspecting dents in the walls, skimming over everything while Shion, still repressing a panic attack, was clinging to Umeko like a lost child.

"Hey..." Chiemi pointed below the table she was investigating- knocked over, gleaming silver. "Look at this."

Umeko and Shion turned their heads in unison. There was a dented red fire extinguisher on the ground, tube hanging loosely from it. The pin was a few feet away.

"It looks used," Umeko remarked, walking over with Shion still following her like a shadow.

"I guess it would explain all this white stuff." Shion stuck out a hand to touch the white substance on the table.

"Haha, I thought that the culprit might have tried to kill Akari with whipped cream!" Chiemi giggled. Umeko furrowed her brow.

"Gross," She spat. "Don't joke about that."

Chiemi looked surprised. "Eh? No no, I didn't mean any disrespect! It's just my sense of humour." She brought back her hands in self defence, raven necklace bouncing around her chest.

"Doesn't matter. Don't do it again." Umeko sighed.

Nobody wanted to acknowledge the bloodied wall. It was the elephant in the room. Finally, after more fruitless investigating, Chiemi shuffled over to look at it.

"Ah... That's terrible..." She mumbled.

"Why would this be here if Akari's b-b-body is in the auditorium..?" Shion spoke quietly.

Umeko adjusted her glasses. "There was obviously violence here. To be honest, I think we've done all we can here. Follow me back if you wish." Turning quickly on her feet, Umeko excited the cafeteria.

Shion scurried behind her, not wanting to lose the most reasonable person available. Chiemi, looking back at the blood, couldn't help but remember that just yesterday, she'd been in here with two friends-could she call them that?-, enjoying herself thoroughly.

Not anymore, she thought sourly. And as if the killer might still be hiding in the room, waiting to pounce, Chiemi ran out, slamming the door behind her.

**0000000**

**Ok, I am so, SO sorry for the wait! I promise such a thing won't happen again!**

**This is part one of the investigation chapter. Let's hope for a shorter wait next time, right? See you all soon!**

**PS: I'm still up for that prayer circle.**


	7. Hairy Situation

Hi everyone! I got a huge burst of inspiration a day or two ago, so that was good for the chapter, haha. Also, embarrassingly enough, I figured out that I accidentally called Natsuko "Nobuko" in the earlier chapters. It's been fixed now (explanation being that I have an OC who goes by that name who bears a similar personality to Natsuko). If I do make a typo or mess up your characters name, just tell me and I'll correct it.

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With shaking hands, much of the group dispersed to look for something to do, as nobody wanted to feel useless. Kin and Haru looked at each other before heading off in the other direction. Before they could leave the room, a hand touched Haru's shoulder.

"Hey." It was Natsuko. The perky demeanour she had earlier was gone, leaving the Natsuko they remembered from the opening room standing in front of them. She smirked playfully at Haru. "I bet I can collect more alibis then you." It was clear she was trying to find something to take her mind off the situation.

Luckily, so was Haru. She lit up with a grin. "I bet you can't!"

"May the best girl win?" Natsuko grinned right back.

"You know it." Haru snickered. She grabbed Kin's hand and bolted off in the opposite direction, taking the protester (who was currently performing their talent loudly) along for the ride. Natsuko smiled and hurried off in the opposite direction.

Kin was wheezing by the time the two of them reached their first group of people- Himakuta and Iko.

"Hi guys! Do you need anything?" Himakuta smiled, chewing away on a piece of liquorice. Iko still looked scared, but more determined than he did in the audiotorium.

"Looks like we got a head start on Natsuko! We already know you guys didn't do it." Seeing Kin's confused expression, Haru continued. "I slept over with them. Himakuta, Iko, Ritsu, Chiasa, Natsuko and myself all have alibis."

"Uh, does Natsuko?" Iko spoke up. "If this happened two hours ago, she was still out and about."

Haru's face fell. "Crap... Well, I'll keep it in mind, at least. I'd sure as hell hope it wasn't her."

"Hey... What have you got there?" Kin pointed at Himakuta, who was holding something in the hand that didn't have liquorice.

"This? Oh! We found evideeeence! Iko found it down the dorm hallway." Himakuta displayed a plain white flu mask in his hands.

"A flu mask?" Kin cocked their head. "Weird... Where in the dorm hallway?"

"A few feet out from Room 6." Iko piped up.

"We'll have to see who's dorm that is, I guess." Haru stared blankly before gasping. "Shit! We can't let Natsuko beat us! Sorry guys, gotta go!" She snatched Kin's hand.

"Hold on, I can't run anym-" Kin was cut off by Haru taking off with them in tow. Their yelp echoed down the hallway, along with Iko's "B-Be safe!"

0000000

Most of the group that hadn't been assigned a task had drifted off to search, like Olivier had suggested. One of these groups happened to be made up of Ritsu and Chiasa, who had ended up together to look around for clues.

They'd been stopped by Natsuko, who'd known their alibi already. However, that had slowed them down a bit, and the clock was ticking. Both of them were getting frantic, and moving quickly. They were moving at the same pace until-

"OW!" Chiasa stopped suddenly, and cried out in pain. Ritsu skidded on his grubby sneakers, and turned to her in a flash.

"Are you alright?" He looked up at the taller girl, and noticed the source of her distress- she was struggling to remove her curly blonde hair from an air vent. It must have sucked it in when she rubbed the wall when rushing by.

"Owowow..." Chiasa hissed as she tugged at the locks that were entrapped in the vent. Scurrying up next to her and standing on the tips of his toes, Ritsu was able to help remove her (now miserably tangled) hair from the vent.

"Ah, thanks." Chiasa smiled, even though it faltered slightly upon noticing that a few ripped-out strands had tumbled from her shoulders to the floor.

"No probl- Hey, do you see that?" Ritsu interrupted himself to point at the vent.

"See what?" Chiasa fixed her red hair bows as she peered inside the vent.

"It looks like more hair. It... Doesn't look like yours." Ritsu squinted closer. "I think we should check it out."

As if on cue, a door several yards away opened and closed a few yards away. Itami emerged from his room and turned to look at the two. "Greetings." He nodded, white bowl cut falling around his face briefly.

"Hi Itami! Just the person we wanted to see!" Ritsu beamed. Itami stared back blankly. To break the awkward contrast, Chiasa continued.

"The boys have tool kits, correct? Could you get yours and help us open a vent?" She asked as nicely as she could, even though this guy still gave her the willies.

"Ok." With that one word statement, Itami turned into his room again. She'd honestly been expecting that she'd have to convince him, but that would work too.

"How'd you know the boys had tool sets?" Ritsu cocked his head.

"Himakuta told me. They're certainly a lot more useful than our sewing kits." She chuckled, fiddling with the buttons on her blouse.

Just then, Itami returned, instantly going towards the vent and opening it. It was a bit below his height, so it was an easy task for him. He took it off easily and handed it off to Ritsu, who thanked him with another unrequited smile.

Chiasa reached her hand in, fumbling around for a minute before pulling out a small, dark clump of hair.

"Ewww, that's not sanitary." She mumbled, holding it at an arms length.

"Is it brown? Or black?" Ritsu looked it over while keeping a reasonable distance from the hair.

"I don't know. It's just dark." Chiasa had had enough by this point, and dropped it on the ground. "If we had more of it, we'd be able to tell..." Rubbing her hands on her black skirt, she turned back to Itami with a smile.

"Thank you, Itami. You were a help in the investigation."

"You're welcome." With his traditionally short response, Itami turned and walked down the hallway, grey sneakers squeaking on the tiles.

Ritsu stared into space for a moment before gasping and waving his arms. "Wait! Itami! Do you have an alibi?"

Without turning around or stopping, Itami spoke monotonously. "I was asleep."

Soon he was out of their sight, and Chiasa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Itami scares me... I can't explain it. Something about him isn't right."

Ritsu smiled. "Don't worry. Even if that's true, I'll keep you safe! Your knight in shining armour!" Ritsu made an over exaggerated heroic pose. "Princess Chiasa of the Air Vent kingdom, with hair of spun gold, I'll save you from the monochrome dragon!" He fell to one knee and opened his arms while making a mischievous face.

Chiasa burst into a small fit giggles as he took her hand and kissed it. "Oh, brave Prince Ritsu of the Otaku kingdom, I must be rescued!" She pulled her hand up against her head to mimic a damsel in distress.

Both of them started laughing and smiling, exchanging this silly banter all down the hallway. Just for a moment, the bitter reality of what could come was shadowed by a growing friendship and hope.

Can't have that now, can we?

00000000

Down by the south end of the main hall, Natsuko was on her own alibi search. She was moving fast, as she'd wasted some time stopping in her room to get changed into her normal green sailor uniform. Sharply turning a corner, she stepped on something and skidded wildly, one of her loafers slipping off her feet. She knocked her elbow off the wall on the way down, yelping a profanity as she hit the floor.

It just so happened that Yohaku was a bit past that corner, and witnessed Natsuko's less-than-elegant fall. He hurried over and offered a hand.

"That was a bit of a hard fall. Are you alright?" He asked. Natsuko sighed and took his hand.

"Yeah. 'M fine. Don't worry about me." She investigated her socks, disgruntled to discover a small hole had been formed on the inside of her black knee highs. "Ah, shit. Anyways, what were you doing down here? Lookin' for Chiemi, I guess?" Having regained her composure, Natsuko was back to her normal self.

"I was, actually. I was hoping to see how she was doing... Seeing how Umeko and Shion were with her at the time. I just found them." Yohaku seemed oblivious to Natsuko's slight implication.

"Hah. So how are the spaz and SHSL wimp doing with ghosty?" Natsuko crossed her arms.

"They're doing alright. Shion is still very dependant on Umeko, so it seems. I feel terrible for her. It must have been quite a shock to find that Akari had passed." Yohaku looked surprisingly downcast.

"Yeah, I guess. Really does suck." Natsuko sighed a bit, shifting her weight onto one foot. There was a small crack under her loafer. "Huh?" She lifted it up to find what that she'd slipped on had become pressed into her rubber sole. Shaking it, it fell out with a clatter.

"A bangle? I didn't know you wore bracelets." Yohaku looked at the thin silver circle that had developed a small crack in the side from Natsuko unintentionally stepping on it repeatedly.

"I don't. That's not my bracelet." Bending down, Natsuko picked it up and looked at it closer. "Holy crap, this is Shion's. She wears a bangle just like this one."

"Oh. We'd better return it to her, then." Yohaku extended an arm out to grab it, but Natsuko pulled away.

"No way, astro-boy. This could be evidence. Shion was close to Akari, right?" She tucked it in her pocket. "Oh, by the way, do you have an alibi?" She looked at Yohaku, who looked somewhat disturbed.

"Shion killing Akari? That doesn't seem right at all..." He sighed, closing his orange eyes briefly, looking quite dejected. "And not a solid one. About an hour before the murder, I went to my room to sleep. Kin and Chiemi slept over in Chiemi's room, I believe."

"Sweet, three alibis in one!" Natsuko let a smile tick onto her face. "You know, it's almost a good thing Akari was the one to go. We could have lost someone way more valuable."

Yohaku's face made the startling transformation from spaced-out to dark and angry. Despite Natsuko being four inches taller than him, he somehow seemed to tower over her.

"How dare you." Yohaku's voice was quiet.

"Eh?" Natsuko's pupils had shrunk considerably, leaving frightened grey irises staring at him.

"How DARE you!" He was shouting now, angry and loud. "Akari Tachibana was a valuable source of knowledge, and a good woman. She had a whole life that none of us will ever know. You're a terrible person, Natsuko Sonoda." His eyes bore into her, and Natsuko visibly shivered.

"... Oh, FUCK OFF!" She shrieked, stomping on his foot and giving him a shove backwards. Yohaku stumbled, but stayed upright. "Just go kill yourself!" She hissed before storming off down the hallway.

As soon as Natsuko had left his sight away, Yohaku heard a laugh from the opposite direction. Saburo had been watching the whole exchange from a distance, giggling to himself. "She's a special one, isn't she?" Saburo cocked an eyebrow at Yohaku with a grin.

"I suppose," Yohaku spoke quietly. Two of the people he had the hardest time with we're encountering him back to back, and he didn't appreciate it.

Literally saved by the bell, there was a clang as Monobear's voice filled the hallway. "What an interesting show! Unfortunately for you, your time is up! Head down to the end of the north hallway to begin our school trial!"

000000

And that's the end of our drama-filled investigation! Please review if you can find the time!

Also, I was asked to create a height chart, so here you go!

Conner- 6'1

Natsuko- 5'11

Itami- 5'10

Olivier- 5'9

Yohaku- 5'7

Chiasa- 5'7

Haru- 5'5

Akari- 5'5

Shion- 5'4

Iko- 5'2

Ritsu- 5'0

Umeko- 4'11

Kin- 4'9

Chiemi- 4'9

Himakuta's height description was kind of confusing, so he's not on the list until further notice.


	8. Trial 1: Akari Tachibana

**A/N: Oooh, trial time! Let's see who the culprit is!**

**(Heads up that I'm using my artistic license in science, basically meaning that the chemical reactions I'm talking about in this chapter are, for the most part, total BS. I'm just making it up to move it along)**

The student group gathered in the assigned area fairly quickly. It was a simple grey room with silver elevator doors at the far end. Not a single window was in the area. A few broke off into small groups to chat. Olivier went from person to person, talking to them. Natsuko and Haru were talking while Natsuko was quickly scribbling something on her hand with a pen.

The elevator doors opened suddenly, and after a few worried looks, the group entered all together. It was a large elevator, easily enough to hold all of them. After the last person was in, the elevator doors closed with a click. There was a quiet grinding noise as the elevator moved downwards.

Akari Tachibana. A good girl with no visible sinister motives meant that the killer couldn't possibly have been someone who had beef with her. The list of possible killers ran on, but a few were already developing suspects in their minds.

The elevator reached the bottom floor, and the doors pulled open with a 'ding'. The courtroom walls were red, and there were elegant gold pillars that twisted up to the high ceiling lining the walls. Gold and silver embroidery adorned the carpet.

Right in the middle of the room, there was a circle of podiums. They were made of a dark wood, and each one bore a student's name on the back. Kishimura Shion, Umari Saburo, and so on. At the far end, a large cushioned throne stood, Monobear regally sitting on it.

"Well, are you gonna just gawk all day? Hurry up, you bastards, get to your podiums." The bear snapped. Everyone was already on edge, so nobody hesitated to get to where they were supposed to be. Most noticeably, behind the podium labeled "Tachibana Akari", there was a gold framed black and white photograph of Akari on a stand, her face crossed out with a red X.

"... Alright, what the hell is that?" Conner pointed towards the picture.

"Your fallen classmate, of course! I think Akari would be bear-y sad to be left out of this trial, wouldn't she? We can include her this way!" Monobear piped up, grinning.

"Jesus Christ, that's creepy." Saburo mumbled.

"To each their own. Now, you bastards," Monobear cackled. "Let's start the school trial of life and death! First case- who killed Akari Tachibana?"

There was silence for a moment, before Olivier spoke up.

"Very well. Let's go over the evidence to begin." His voice filled the room. "I spoke to most of you before the trial began. There was foam on Akari that likely came from the fire extinguisher found in the cafeteria. The cafeteria itself was found in a state of disarray, indicating that there was most likely a struggle between Akari and the culprit there. Similarly, there was a note asking Akari to come to the cafeteria from a person who will remain unidentified until I finish. It's suspected that this note is a fake, but I have no way of confirming it. There was a knife in Akari's chest, despite her death being stated as a blow to the head. A flu mask was found outside of Room 6. A clump of dark hair was found in an air vent. A bracelet was found at the end of the hall. A dying message of "Snow White" was left at the scene of the crime." Olivier took a breath. "If I missed anything please tell me."

"Yeah, you did," Conner piper up. "Remember on Akari's neck? There was a chemical burn."

"Ah, right." Olivier snapped his fingers. "Thank you."

"Well, we have a lot to go on." Chiemi brought a hand to her chin. "Head trauma... I found a dent in the fire extinguisher. Would that mean she was killed by being hit with the extinguisher?"

"It seems likely," Iko looked pale, but nodded professionally. "Ah, Olivier, who's room was Room 6?"

"Kishimura Shion's. The note on Akari also claimed to be sent from her." Olivier answered. Shion squeaked.

"W-What?" Shion exclaimed, eyes widening. "I would never hurt A-Akari..."

"I'm thinking you're f-f-full of c-c-crap," Natsuko glared at Shion, mocking the stuttering fear in her voice. "I also found your bangle down the hall. You know, where Akari's room was supposed to be? Can you show me your arms?" Natsuko stated accusingly.

"Of course I ca- What?" Shion raised both arms to find the bangle absent. "Where is it..?"

"Don't try to play innocent, I'm pretty sure this trial is over before it begins." Natsuko tossed the bangle across the circle to Shion, who didn't even try to catch it. "I think that's enough condemning evidence."

"No, I don't think so." Kin spoke. "I think we should consider the other clues first- although I can't say I disagree with your suspect list." Kin's eyes darted over to Shion, who shrunk even farther into herself.

"I'd like to point something out." Umeko called out. "That fire extinguisher was using an ABC powder. If it touches you, you'll develop a painful burn within seconds. It takes almost a week for it to disappear." Seeing the mystified looks at her sudden scientific speech, Umeko sighed. "I took a lot of babysitting courses. Trust me, kids like to play around with those things."

"So the chemical burn was likely from the fire extinguisher?" Yohaku asked.

"Yes. Although, Umeko, you and I saw something in there, correct?" Olivier asked as Umeko nodded. "We went back to the cafeteria after I was done investigating the body with Conner. Using some facial powder and a strip of tape, I could find the fingerprints on the extinguisher- and they matched Akari's perfectly. There was a second set overlapping hers, but they were all blurred, so I couldn't gain any evidence from that."

"So what you're saying is..?" Haru asked impatiently.

"Akari handled the extinguisher first." Olivier spoke curtly.

"So... She attacked first?" Ritsu looked somewhat disgruntled by that thought.

"Well, wasn't the note addressed to Akari? I don't think she was the first attacker." Chiemi piped in.

"I don't think she was either. I believe she used the extinguisher to defend herself, actually. She sprayed the attacker-at about facial height, judging by the large spot of it on the far wall- meaning that they should have some sort of scars on their face." Olivier looked around.

"... Flu mask!" Himakuta brought his palm up to his face, groaning. "They used the flu mask to protect their face!"

"Well, there goes our lead." Chiasa sighed sadly.

"... Hey, Iko, do you still have the flu mask?" Himakuta took his palm off his face to stare at the smaller boy.

"Huh? Oh, yes." Iko dug around in his pocket before pulling it out.

"It's huge, see?" Himakuta waved his arms at it. "That could be enough to protect most of someone's face! Now that I think about it... Hey, Shion! Try it on!"

Shion, who had been breathing very heavily up until now, looked up at Himakuta, dazed. "Huh?"

"Get it from Iko! This is a chance to clear your name!" Himakuta exclaimed as Iko (who's podium was right next to Shion's) handed it over to her. Nervously, she took it and pulled it over her face. It fell down over her neck, far too large to stay on her face. A few more attempts proved the same results.

"It doesn't mean you're clear yet, Shion, but it's a start." Olivier nodded at her. Shion sighed, relieved.

"Alright, so we've figured that Akari tried to defend herself against her attacker with the fire extinguisher, but had it turned on herself, and was then killed by being struck in the head with it, right?" Haru repeated. "God, that's screwed up."

"What about the hair in the vent? Do you think that was relevant?" Ritsu looked over at Olivier.

"I'd think so. You said it was dark, correct? Given that Akari's ponytail was undone, it's most likely her hair." Olivier answered, taking the storm of questions with ease.

"That makes sense. The cafeteria was near the vent, and that hall lead from the cafeteria to the auditorium, right?" Chiasa piped in. "Perhaps Akari was carried to the auditorium, and her hair caught on the vent?"

"But the only person tall enough to carry Akari at that height would be Himakuta, and he has an alibi." Kin said.

"She could easily have been carried over someone's shoulder... Say, how high up was the vent?" Yohaku thought aloud.

"Hmm, my guess would be about 5 feet 7 inches up. It was able to catch my hair, after all." Chiasa answered him.

"Ah, alright." Yohaku was silent after that statement. Umeko sighed.

"So do you have anything else to say with that new information?" She rubbed her temples.

"Oh, no, not yet. I'm still thinking." Yohaku answered.

Conner sighed."... Ok, so we've figured that Akari was attacked in the cafeteria and carried to the auditorium. Then she was put against the stage, stabbed, and left to die. What about the message?"

"It looks like it was written by Akari herself. However, I can't figure out the meaning behind it. 'Snow White' just isn't adding up." Olivier answered.

"... Shit. Pardon me." Yohaku broke the silence. "It is. This is all adding up, Olivier, and it's not pointing to Shion, either."

Yohaku turned to face his suspect. "Itami."

"Hm?" The previously silent boy looked up to see Yohaku.

"It was you, wasn't it? It's all making sense now. You're an SHSL Freak- you'd already have some sort of developed resistance to chemicals or other scarring things- hence why your upper face isn't scarred from the extinguisher." Yohaku was growing louder, the anger slowly creeping into his voice. "You're at a height that you could have carried Akari over your shoulder and gotten her hair caught in the vent. 'Snow White'... Look at yourself. You don't have a proper alibi. You'd be strong enough to beat Akari to death. If you have any solid reasoning as to why this wasn't you, I'd sure as HELL like to hear it!" Yohaku yelled the last part, fists quivering with rage.

"What about the bangle?" Asked a visibly startled Ritsu.

"My best guess? Shion dropped it somewhere. Now, Itami... Do you have any proof that you did not kill that girl?" The poison in Yohaku's voice was enough to cause goosebumps around the room.

Itami shrugged. "Not really. I don't have anything solid that says it wasn't me."

"Itami. Are you the culprit?" Yohaku seethed.

Itami merely cocked his head and looked Yohaku right in the eyes.

"Of course I am."

00000000

_Akari Tachibana received an invitation, supposedly from Shion Kishimura, to the cafeteria. Akari headed down, only to be greeted by Itami Kimochi. After an attempted attack on her with a knife, she tried to fight back by spraying Itami with a fire extinguisher, but his flu mask blocked the worst- and his years of resistance to bodily harm, as an SHSL Freak, definitely helped. He wrestled the extinguisher from Akari, hitting her in the head with it._

_Itami then carried the dying girl down to the auditorium over his shoulder, some of her hair getting caught in the vent. He dropped her in front of the stage, unknowingly giving her time to write down a dying clue. After she expired, Itami put a knife in her heart in an attempt to throw off the investigation._

_Akari Tachibana died against the stage, a location that should be a happy and familiar place for her, ended up being the place where her young life ended._

Most people would have expected pandemonium to break out of Yohaku, or Shion, or somebody. But that wasn't the case at all. It was just silent.

"I'd like to know why." Olivier broke the silence. "Is there any reason why you killed Akari besides a way to freedom?"

"Not really." Itami scratched his head. "If I had to say, perhaps it was because I enjoyed watching her suffer."

"What?" Haru looked disgusted.

"I could have killed Akari right there and then in the cafeteria. But then I wouldn't have got to hear her cry while I carried her to the auditorium. I wouldn't have heard her choke on blood. I wouldn't have got to hear her beg for her life. I wouldn't have had any of that. So, although you could say it was a deep rooted enjoyment of her suffering, it was mostly just to get out." Itami finished, yawning.

More silence, while Shion was audibly crying. Nobody really knew what to say. Most just had a rising taste of disgust in their mouths.

"Hah! What a nice confession!" Monobear laughed, kicking his feet. "Anyways, lets start the votes!"

**A/N: End of trial 1! As per usual, please drop me a review! I live off of those.**

**Also, can I get a few execution ideas? Not just for Itami, but for anyone else. I'm terrible at executions, sadly.**


End file.
